The Church in Gods Program (Handbook of Bible Doctrine) [Kindle Edition]

Saucy wrote this book a number of years ago, but it is still a frequently used text in a number of seminaries, particularly those of a dispensationalist bent. It's a good book that will expose the reader in a pretty summarized fashion to the major issues in ecclesiology, or the study of the church.

Among the strengths of the book are that most every traditional ecclesiastical issue is covered in this book - church government, ordinances, discipline, church officers, and how the church figures into the study of eschatology. Saucy's analysis of these areas is sufficiently detailed to be pretty thorough, while presenting many of the distinctives in summary fashion. Saucy provides a very good bibliography at the end for readers to conduct further studies on particular areas of interest.

There are a few weaknesses which compel me to give the book a 4 star rating. First, the book is frankly pretty dry. Thus, it is not likely to be the kind of book that a casual reader would pick up and read. Ecclesiology may not be the most riveting theological topic in existence, but there are many issues in this area of study that are important and interesting. But it is very difficult to find any book emphasizing ecclesiastical issues that has captured the attention of casual readers and lay Christians. It would be nice if such a book existed, but this book by Saucy isn't it. Secondly, because the book is an ecclesiastical summary, it is uniquely positioned in the realm of ecclesiastical studies. The purpose of the book may have been to present these issues in a way that lay readership could understand, while also being a useful tool for more advanced studies. As indicated, I don't think the book particularly succeeds in speaking to the lay reader, and because it's a summary oriented book, it's usefulness to the scholar is also somewhat limited (although again, the bibliography is quite helpful in this regard), although I think it's very useful to seminary students. Lastly, Saucy is a progressive dispensationalist and his eschatological treatment of the church in this book is decidedly dispensationalist. For readers who reject dispensationalism, this area of Saucy's book will be a disappointment.

However, it is a good book with sufficient amounts of material to help seminary students as well as lay readers who are interested in getting their feet wet in ecclesiology, although the material tends to be presented in a rather dry fashion here.

If you're looking for a good and informative book on ecclesiology from a conservative evangelical perspective then Saucy's book will be the one for you. Though the book is slightly dated (first published in 1972) it is still useful for pastors, seminary students, and even laypeople if they want an informed book on ecclesiology. Not only is the book informative and comprehensive, it is easy to read.

The perspective given by Saucy is mildly dispensational, cautiously congregational, and strongly baptistic (though he opts for the Reformed view of the Lord's Supper). He argues quite convincingly for the congregational and baptistic view, but I believe he falters slightly in attempting to put a rigid distinction between the OT and NT, Israel and the Church (chap. 5). However, I believe that he totally got it right when he argues that the Church did not begin until Acts 2 (non-dispensational scholars like D. A. Carson, Walter Kaiser, and George Ladd have also argued that the Church began in Acts 2). Covenant theologians, on the other hand, argue that the Church (in spiritual form) began with Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc. This view, however, is nowhere found in Scripture and seems to be an imposition from a Reformed view of redemptive-history.

Despite the one criticism of promoting dispensationalism, Saucy does a very good job presenting his case in other topics of ecclesiology. One will find his chapter (8) on the worship of the Church quite good and useful. He provides the reader with a good understanding of the nature and purpose of worship. Considering the contemporary controversies surrounding what constitutes biblical worship, readers will find this chapter helpful to say the least.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a book on ecclesiology from a conservative, evangelical, and baptistic point of view. The only reason why I only gave it four stars is due to the out-of-dateness and Saucy's dispensationalist agenda.

Though slightly outdated, Robert Saucy's (pronounced Socee) work still stands as one of the best-written works to date on a biblical doctrine of the church. I will try to be brief here because this work covers so much ground. I will respond to three points his work touches upon.

First, Saucy explains clearly the three main approaches to church government: Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Congregational. Though the author favors and stands with the final of these options, he does see helpful elements in each perspective and affirms that scripture does not dogmatically say which form was strictly employed by New Testament teaching and practice.

Since my tradition aligns with his, that of the Bible Church Movement and Baptist Congregationalism, I tend to favor his views of church government and leadership. Do I think it always works? Absolutely not. In fact, I think our present culture calls for a revising of our approach to church government and structure. A reassessment needs to be done in this area since this idea of authority has been so fleeting in congregational churches. I think Saucy would agree. Because of this, I tend to favor the Presbyterian, elder-rule government structure. I think it gives clearer testimony to the authority invested in those he has "called" to vocational service.

Though I agree with Saucy's definition of "calling" and "vocational leaders" (you'll need to read his work to get a full picture here), I feel that it still fails to do justice to the idea of church authority (or leadership) of a congregation. Though I love concepts of the Brethren movement (both open and exclusive), just as an example, I simply cannot see how those types of movements (or independent congregations) have lasting impact in rapidly-changing cultures. There is no connectivity, no "visible" authority to lead as the extended incarnation of Christ on earth (meaning his church). The gift of pastor/teacher being defined as just something "anyone can do" who allocates their full time (to paraphrase Saucy loosely) tends to depreciate the authority vested in the care giver of Christ's local body. I would agree in principle with what Saucy is saying. I hold to the priesthood of the believer so I absolutely agree in principle. But in practical application this idea of "anyone can be a pastor" tends to depreciate the gift of pastor/teacher. It is clear that every Christian has been called to vocationally serve Christ, the church, and the world (Eph. 4:1), but not every person is given the gift of pastor/teacher. Once again, I agree with all of what Saucy says in principle, I just don't think this approach (congregational autonomy from other local bodies) works well in our present culture.

Secondly, Saucy does an excellent job speaking on church sacraments and the church as a mystery entity in God's program in human history. Saucy is clearly Dispensational (though he clearly aligns himself with the Progressive movement, 1986-present) in his approach and understanding of the nature and purpose of Christ's church. I find much similarity in my thinking here and appreciate his thinking which highlights a system of greater discontinuity than most give. Believe me, I love my brothers and sisters in Christ who hold to different perspectives, but I really feel like this approach puts biblical-redemptive narrative and history together more succinctly.

Thirdly, his beliefs in the sacraments are largely symbolic, but tend to add an element of "real presence" as Calvin and the Reformed community have traditionally held. In the end, he lines up more with the "memorial" view and non-conformist tradition. I honestly don't mind either view as I think either can be defended from scripture well.

In conclusion, I really don't think there is a more helpful introductory book for men and women preparing themselves for church ministry (in whatever form that might be). Though the book stands as an "academic", it is written in an assessable way and is readable. It deals with a teaching that has been really misconstrued within the present church, simply, "What is the Church?" and "What is its life and function?" Overall, I still believe this book is one of the best on Protestant ecclesiology. The Christian church truly is indebted to Robert Saucy for his contribution to this area of thinking. An excellent work meant to be read, reread, and referenced time and again.